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Lakeville Fire Chief: 4,162 calls in 2025, staffing and paramedic plan outlined
Summary
Chief Meyer told the City Council the department handled 4,162 calls in 2025, about 60% EMS, and described new 24/7 engine staffing, drone operations, a recent SAFER grant hire cycle and plans to add paramedics to shift coverage by 2027.
Chief Meyer presented the Lakeville Fire Department2725 annual report at the City Council27s March 16 meeting, saying the department handled 4,162 calls in 2025 and that "a little over 60% of those are EMS rescue calls". He told councilmembers the department is averaging about 11 calls per day and has seen a roughly 9% year-over-year increase in call volume since 2023.
The report said the department recently moved to two full-time staffed engines covering overlapping calls in the city27s southern half. "As of April 2025 we did add engine one, fully staffed, 24 over seven," Chief Meyer said, adding that the extra engine improves response times but has reduced pay-on-call station page-outs. He reported 636 overlapping incidents in 2025 and highlighted July 4 as a day with particularly high simultaneous activity.
Meyer described other capabilities and programs: a 10-person drone team used for structure-fire and water-rescue response, school- and business-based prevention work (14 elementary-school visits and extinguisher training for middle schools), roughly 1,200 inspections in 2025, and training and wellness programs that include annual physicals, critical-incident stress support and in-shift fitness time.
On staffing, Meyer said the department used a SAFER grant to hire 16 full-time firefighters in March 2025 and now staffs two engines continuously. He also described a mix of EMR, EMT and paramedic certifications across personnel and said three staff members were in paramedic school with certification anticipated in October.
Councilmembers asked about the effects of fewer station page-outs on firefighter health and about plans to place paramedics on engines. Councilmember Joshua Lee said reduced page-outs "are 100% better" for quality of life; Meyer agreed but said that when pay-on-call staff are paged they are needed for higher-acuity calls. On paramedics, Meyer said the goal is to have a medic on an engine by 2027 and to reach a minimum of two paramedics per shift as the department progresses through 20272728.
The presentation closed with a recap of recruitment, retention, awards and community events; Meyer said department leaders will continue to report on staffing and response metrics as plans progress.
